


Just Too Cynical

by Krasimer



Series: And Now a Flower Grows 'Verse [9]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: And lets them know, Dad W. D. Gaster, Family, Family Feels, Gaster comforts his youngest, Gaster is proud of his children, Gen, Good W. D. Gaster, Papyrus Has Issues, Papyrus cries, Post-Accident W.D. Gaster, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Proud of his Son, Sad Papyrus
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-29
Updated: 2016-09-20
Packaged: 2018-07-10 22:14:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7010416
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krasimer/pseuds/Krasimer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Papyrus and Gaster finally have that talk they started.<br/>Father and Son finally deal with their issues.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Youngest Son

"I do remember."

Gaster turned to look at his youngest, a strange expression on his face, "What was that Papyrus?"

"I do remember," Papyrus's hands were clenched together in front of him, his sockets glowing with only a dull gleam. "I remember you disappearing and I remember Sans being so sad and scared and looking lost. I remember putting up the barrier that we just recently escaped, I remember-" he shuddered. "I remember dying and then waking up as a small baby bones. I remember what wielding a sword feels like, and I think it might be why I never tried using one in my attempts to become a Royal Guard."

"Heh," Gaster smiled at him, the tension draining out of his body. "You stuck to your magic."

"I'm so much more destructive when I use a sword." Papyrus shook his head, "I was a warrior for so long, and I think that's why I tried to become a guard. I remembered that I fought for people and their safety, and I just..."

"You were trying to mimic a memory." Gaster held his arms out. "Do you remember anything else? I am pretty sure I remember all of what occurred, but any gaps you might be able to fill in would be appreciated." he hugged his son close when Papyrus allowed it, laughing quietly. "I missed being able to have you two around, I think that might have been the worst part."

"We missed you too," Papyrus grinned, hugging him back and then stepping away. "Sans tried for a lot of RESETS to bring you back. I could always tell when it hadn't worked because he'd spend the day after sleeping and not leaving the house except when I made him."

Gaster's eyes glowed for a moment, a reassuring blink of orange and blue. "You remember the RESETS?" his voice was an awed sort of pleased. 

"Of course I do," Papyrus put a hand to his chest, curling it into a fist over the emblem of the shirt he wore. "I was never as good at magic as you and So- Sans, but I am your son after all. And I kept the physics books in my room. It never clicked quite as well as it did for you two, but I tried my best."

"Sometimes that is all you can do."

"I just thought that, maybe, if I could get it to feel right in my head, I could help Sans bring you back." Papyrus brushed his hand over his skull, trying to wipe away the slowly falling orange tears. "I thought that- I thought that if I could bring you back, he'd be happy again. After you disappeared, it took him a long time to smile again. He started practicing those awful puns you like so much," he shuddered, taking a breath, "He was practicing knock-knock jokes in the woods and that was how he met Toriel. When you went missing, he tried so hard to fill the empty spaces left by your absence.

"And it's not like he could deal with it very easily, but he did so good because he is Sans and my brother is the best!" Papyrus sniffed, constant shivers wracking his body. "He used to hate your j-jokes, and we would both groan when you made one and then it was like he was trying to be you because you weren't there!" he covered his face, letting Gaster lead him to a couch and sit him down. 

When prodded, he curled against his dad, his knees pulled against his chest.

Humming a soft tune, Gaster wrapped his arms around him, trying his best to be soothing. After what felt like an eternity, he spoke. "I did not mean to be gone for so long."

"I know," Papyrus whimpered. 

"And I certainly did not mean to leave you both. You are my sons. You are some of my favorite people in this world or the next, and I hated myself for not being able to talk to you at all times. I wish I could have been there for every moment." Gaster stroked gentle fingers across his skull, settling his chin on top of Papyrus's head. "You were a grown man before, and you've grown again in the time I was gone. All I can really do is stay with you now and hope you let me watch what you become this time because you are just as brilliant as Sans and myself," he smiled when Papyrus twisted around to look up at him. "Yes, you are. It may not show in the same way as ours, but you share our intellect and I dare anyone to try and say otherwise. Where we follow our heads, you follow your heart. We bury ourselves in our pursuits and if it weren't for people like you, we would certainly lose our way.

"And that would be a tragedy if the world did not have people like you in it." Gaster tightened his grip for a moment. "You are my second son, but you are no less brilliant for it. You are more like what I remember your mother being, and I know she would be proud of who you are. _I_ am _**proud**_ of who you have become. You became someone that everyone should be glad to meet, and I hope you realize this."

Papyrus nodded, tucking his head back in and gripping Gaster's sweater tightly.


	2. The Eldest Son

"You know I'm proud of you, right?" 

Sans froze, his hands clamping down on the edge of his desk. "Uh, hey dad," he wiped hurriedly at his front, brushing off the shreds of paper that had clung to his shirt. "What?"  
Gaster frowned. 

"I-I mean, well, how's it goin'?"

"Sans," Gaster pulled a second chair closer to his oldest son, his sockets dimly lit. "I spoke with Papyrus. It has come to my attention that there are things I should have said long before now. I should have found some way to say them from the Void, if at all possible. Papyrus labored under the impression that I was not as proud of him as I was of you, and I am a fair amount certain that you think much the same."

"Dad," Sans' fingers made a soft noise as he dragged them over the back of his skull. 

"Oh, here," Gaster pulled a pair of glasses out of his pocket, leaning forward to settle them over Sans' eyes. "I never could see without mine, and I know you have troubles with yours."

They sat there for a moment, Sans trying to blink comfort into his eyes once more. "It's- It's funny, y'know? You get used to not wearing them anymore, even when it's hard to see, and then you get them back and everything feels right again. It's been ages since I last wore 'em, but they fit right back where they go."

Gaster nodded, leaning back into his chair to watch his son. "You started making jokes like I used to."

"...You were gone," Sans brushed a hand across his cheek. "You were gone and it was just me and Paps and he remembered someone making bad jokes, so there had to be someone to keep making them. He was just a little bones, hardly any bigger than Frisk was when we first met them. Think they must'a hit a growth spurt while they were in the Underground or somethin', growing like a little weed...

"Anyway, Pap needed something familiar and normal and I- I didn't want to take away the memories he had. Even if," he twisted his fingers together. "Even if it meant learning how to make some awful jokes, I wanted him to be able to smile."

Gaster tugged his chair closer, settling a hand on top of his head. "You did your absolute best," he said softly, "And I don't think anyone could ever ask more of you."

"...It took..." Sans' eyes were bright, his cheeks covered in blue tears. "It took forever to get you back and I didn't even know if I c-could, and- and people kept saying we just appeared and didn't remember how you spent time makin' our house and I ha-had to listen to people ask me where we came from and there're tw-two lives in my head and I just didn't know how to-" he cut himself off, curling up into a ball in his chair. "Accordin' to the people in Snowdin, we just appeared one day. And yeah, I kinda get it, you disappeared, e-erased from the timeline and all, but- Hhh!"

His voice went quiet when Gaster dragged him out of his chair and into a tight hug. 

"Dad, I'm not that small anymore!"

"I know, give me a moment."

He actually did, settling into the near-strangling grip of his father. After a few minutes passed, he pushed on the arms holding him. Gaster's grip loosened, allowing Sans to slide back into his chair. 

"A moment for what?"

Nodding slowly as he watched his eldest, Gaster sat back in his chair, hands curling around his knees. "Figuring out how to string the words together. You are my oldest son, my oldest child. Had we stayed where we were," he made a noise similar to a clearing throat. "There would have been a day when you were my heir. Magic use..."

Sans' eye flared blue, the edges of his smiling changing ever so slightly as to make it a grimace. "We were human."

"Yes."

"How did this even..." he shook his head. "How did we get here? Like this?"

"A theory I came up with, a long time ago," Gaster sighed as he let some of his magic swirl up from the hole in the middle of his hand, watched the teal-orange-blue mixture curl around his fingers for a moment. "We were part of the group of seven to seal off the Underground. When we died during the casting of the spell," he clenched his hand into a fist, extinguishing the magic instantly. "We were drawn into it. Our life essence became part of the magic, we were converted from human souls into living monsters. Have you noticed that there never were any other skeletons?"

"Yeah, just us. So," Sans' eye began to dim, his own hands curled together in front of him. "So we just got dragged through, like water through a sieve."

"More like honey or something...Goopier, but yes."

"Do you know if anyone else would have been?"

Gaster laughed, nodding slowly. "I believe there may be a few. If you remember the boy that Paraskevas was enamoured of?"

"Angel above, I forgot all about that. The guy was younger, just by a bit, and he was so..." Sans sat up straight, his fingers digging into his knees. "No. Pretty good at reading souls, gotten better over the years, there's no way- Shit, Mettaton is Hanan."

"Oh?" Gaster blinked at him. "We have it confirmed?"

"Yeah. Diva celebrity of the Underground who somehow managed to wheel his way into human show biz. I don't," Sans grumbled, covering his face. "I don't want him anywhere near Paps!"

"Your brother is old enough to make his own decisions."

"Yeah, but-"

"No buts, Sotiras. He is more than capable of defending himself and forming relationships with others if he feels like it."

Sans looked up. "I know. It's just this one, in particular, that's got me _rattled_ ," his grin was wide for a moment before he shook his head, "No, Mettaton is a self-involved asshole who wouldn't give the time of day to Paps, he abandoned his own family to get to where he is today."

"From what I have seen, Sans," Gaster smiled at his son. "You simply have to give him a chance."

**Author's Note:**

> I never once said that Papyrus was less messed up than his brother. I never once told you that Papyrus wasn't hiding his fear and anger and sadness just like Sans. Sans uses puns and jokes. Papyrus uses loud voice and emotional speeches.


End file.
